Keeping up appearances.......

HappyNow

Thank you Dolphin and Honey, I hope you and anyone else who happens past has a lovely day too .

brizzledfw

Happy Christmas Happy! So sorry havent been posting..but here's hoping you have a great 2016!

X

HappyNow

Thanks Brizzle. I hope your 2016 is great too

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Our Christmas day was pretty much perfect, but on Boxing Day it was our area's turn to be hit by the floods. Our house is OK because of its location, but there is utter devastation all around us, and people have lost everything. All the access roads were impassable and in places we couldn't even see where the roads should be - they had just merged with the rivers/canals. Most roads are open now but covered in a thick, unhealthy sludge. Lots of people are still without power, whereas we only lost it for a few hours. Hundreds were evacuated, many had to be rescued from their homes and won't be able to go back for a long time. Many shops and businesses are ruined, and the owners (if they didn't live on site) couldn't get near to move stock and equipment to safety. I have never seen anything like it and the speed of it was frightening. The only good thing is the way the community has rallied to help victims - total strangers offering spare bedrooms, food, clothing, cleaning materials, everything.

Dolphin - I don't know where in Yorkshire you are, but I hope you are safe.

Honey_Bear

Thanks for lettingus know you've escaped, Happy. Horrible for everyone around you and horrible to witness. (((Hugs))) all round.

Dolphin1

HappyNow wrote: »

Dolphin - I don't know where in Yorkshire you are, but I hope you are safe.

Thanks for asking Mrs HappyNow but we are fine. Despite the river being at the bottom of our street :eek: we are on a hill so it would take a lot more to get as far as us. We were completely cut off on boxing day but thankfully we had no intentions of going anywhere and we didn't lose power.

Most of the flooding was across fields and roads in our area although I suspect there are some properties that have been flooded. I don't know of any directly around us though, sandbags saved the ones around here I think.

The streets around OH's workplace are still flooded. The company he works for are on the 4th floor but I suspect there may be some damage to the basement and ground floor. He's not back until next week so I guess he'll find out about any damage then. I'm quite relieved that he is off this week especially as the trainline is still flooded and not likely to be cleared until Wednesday at the earliest and it's a horrible drive.

I have seen flooding before but I can honestly say I have never seen this much ever. It's scary how quickly the river rose and the current was so strong.

Stay safe and keep everything crossed that the rain that they are predicting for this Wednesday is not as bad as boxing day.

Honey_Bear

I hope you're still okay, Happy, and that your New Year's Eve plans are trundling along smoothly, ready for the big night.

I just wanted to thank you for your spiffing company and your wonderful monthly challenges this year. They've been hugely helpful for me in identifying where tiny changes could make big differences to the quality of day to day life. It's been great having you and everyone else who contributes to your thread cheering everyone on while we battle with all round temptation, chocolate (Smarties, anyone?) and spending. Good one, Happy.

Dolphin1

Happy New Year Mrs HappyNow, Mrs Honey Bear and anyone else reading! Let's hope it's a great year for all of us!

HappyNow

Thanks for the good wishes, and Happy New Year to all! Mr Happy has finally b*ggered off for the day (a race meeting, but for fun and unpaid) so I have a bit of time to myself.

29th December was the 4th anniversary of this diary and therefore my LBM, so I feel a bit reflective. Things I have learned since Dec 2011, in no particular order:

• Building up debt is just about the only regret in my life, so that's not bad
• This debt doesn't make me a bad person (just a bit stupid in my younger days!)
• I don't need a lot of money to be happy
• My monthly budget has to be realistic, and also fluid, because it's long-term and things happen
• Debt-busting doesn't involve misery
• Debt-busting does involve change
• Debt-busting can become all-consuming, I need to keep a sense of proportion sometimes
• On a long-term journey like mine, it's important not to put life 'on hold' for the duration - we must remember to have some fun, even if it costs a bit
• It's not forever. There will be spare money one day soon
• I will never, ever, live beyond my means again and I am instilling this in my children

Over four years I have paid off £29,000. The reduction rate is gathering momentum as time passes, partly because the interest reduces as the balance does, and partly because I'm better at it. It's not because we have had increased income - Mr H's wage rises have just kept up with inflation and I have had pay reductions, no rises at all.

This diary and the wonderful people who help by posting and cheering me on have made such a difference to my life, so thanks to each and every one of you xx

Dolphin1

Fantastic post Mrs HappyNow, you will have the debt licked in no time but you are right not to put your life on hold in the meantime.

FlacosFloozie

Just popped on to wish you a Happy New Year, Happy! I'd like to say what a fantastic post and so true- not just about getting debt free but about staying that way too. £29k in 4 years is really impressive and it will snowball as the intrest reduces. All the best for 2016 :beer:.